


Rose, Quartz, and Serenity

by qloss_ily



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Cross-Posted on Wattpad, Everyone Is Gay, Fluff, Gay, Light Angst, M/M, Multi, One Shot, Polyamory, in some shape or form, that is
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-10
Updated: 2018-07-12
Packaged: 2019-06-08 13:45:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,560
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15244704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/qloss_ily/pseuds/qloss_ily
Summary: ((Soft aesthetic one-shot.))Joshua Hong liked to be quiet, to remain in his small bubble of reality. He never stood out among crowds and that didn't bother him all that much. But his small bubble is making him claustrophobic and everyone knows about bubbles: they always pop.Or art student Joshua Hong meets a blonde haired stranger who decides to introduce him to his friend and, in turn, proceeds to turn his world upside down.





	1. A Picture Worth a Thousand Words

**Author's Note:**

> Finally wrote again holy h*ck please enjoy this. additional author's and character notes will be added at the end.

The building was relatively empty save for a few of the employees and the statues that were scattered about the numerous floors, if one would like to count those as well. Pale yellow light filtered through the massive windows that consumed all the wall space in the open and airy stairwell. The silver railings lining the steps allowed light to bounce off of them and onto the crisp and beautifully stark walls. The white walls themselves illuminated the corridor easily as the sunlight glowed off its light complexion. There was a stark contrast between the escalier and the rooms connected at each end. While the stairs were filled with bright sunshine the rooms themselves were only lit by artificial light, a usually dim ochre ambiance.

The building itself stood out harshly among the industrial buildings in the city. The modern architecture and lush green grass circling the building made it easily noticeable amongst the Arts Center. The sleek exterior and interior was no match for the décor that lined the walls and the sculptures that stood proudly around the floor. The High Museum of Art was a gem to the young man perched on the stairs, sitting with his back pressed up against the wall with his legs stretched out across one of the steps. His bag was open and on the step just below while a stack of books sat on the step just above.

One book of similar genre sat in his lap, the upper corner of the page being rolled between his index finger and thumb as he read and waited in comfortable silence. If one was to flip through the book itself they would find the margins filled with rows and clusters of neat handwriting in pencil and various ink, matching that on the inside cover that read “Property of Joshua Hong.” As if he sensed it, the male, Joshua, folded the upper right corner of the book down and shut it. He packed as many as of the hardback books into his bag as possible before gathering the rest into his arms and rising up from his spot on the stairs. His gaze fixated on the windows, watching as the pale yellow light that streaked down the street and through the glass itself slowly turned into a warm orange hue as Golden Hour finally settled in comfortably across the city as the sun dipped into the horizon.

Sunset came later now that it was early spring with daylight savings and all. The sun didn’t really start her descent until after eight. By that time the gallery should’ve been closed but for Joshua it wasn’t because every second Sunday of the month from 6:00 to 9:30 pm he was at the museum, reading, watching the sun, and viewing the art on the walls. No matter how many times he came, no matter how often the art changed, it never got old and he always appreciated it with his whole soul. Soundlessly he crept from exhibit to exhibit, afraid to disturb the quaint and familiar silence enveloping the building as he examined each painting, drawing, and mixed media piece as well as the sculptures, statues, and other miscellaneous items on display.

Upon becoming enthralled with a particular painting (John Constable’s  _Study of Clouds_  (1822)) a flash and shutter sound forcefully ejected the young man from his blissful daydream, his books nearly tumbling from his arms if they had not constricted habitually around books as he stiffened in fear. It scared Joshua first but the confusion followed closely behind. He was always alone in the museum after hours, not once had he seen anyone before so why someone was here with him now was far beyond the male. He slowly turned to meet the gaze of a male who seemed to be about his age. His platinum blonde hair color matched that of the walls and maybe that’s why his presence wasn’t initially noticed.

“I’m sorry!” Joshua smiled apologetically at the blonde stranger. “Did I ruin your picture of the art?”

The blonde stranger looked down at his Polaroid, watching as the slide slowly developed in his palm. “No, you didn’t,” he sighed quietly to himself, “you were the art I was taking a picture of.” The last part was mumbled not nearly loud enough for the chestnut-haired male to have caught it.

He was too busy thinking to have heard it anyways. For some reason unbeknownst to him, Joshua felt self-conscious around the blonde male. He wasn’t bad looking, or so he thought. His hair was a color somewhere between caramel and milk chocolate and was always neatly styled. His face was always seen with a soft expression overlaying his dainty features. A few stray freckles scatter over his skin but it didn’t disturb how clean of a canvas it was, so to speak. Maybe it was his outfit choice; he was a little rushed after classes and being early spring the air still had a frigid crispness in the evening. So, the brunette ended up wearing a pair of black jeans, a white t-shirt hidden under a green oversized hoodie, a pair of sneakers, and his wire-framed glasses. Nervously, he ran his hand through his bangs, tussling them under the hood of his sweatshirt.

The blonde looked like he belonged in a twentieth-century rendition of a renaissance painting. His blonde hair was similar in color to white gold and styled in light waves that framed his face. His skin looked flawless and glowy like freshly polished marble. He looked like a sculpture of a cherub or an angel, maybe even a Greek god. He wore a light blue button up that complimented his seemingly pale skin but Joshua knew better than that, he could see hints of melanin whenever the male stepped into the sun’s golden rays. Dark-wash jeans were belted around his waist securely and a fitted tan trench coat draped over his frame, which allowed his patent leather shoes to stand out amongst his tasteful outfit. His look was sophisticated compared to Joshua’s which made him feel underdressed.

“I’m Jeonghan, by the way.” The words left a lovely, fuzzy feeling in Joshua’s mind.

“Jeonghan,” The words felt so pleasant on his tongue and the said male beamed when he heard his name. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Joshua.” Something flickered across the blonde’s face when he heard the response but quickly masked it with a smile.

“You’re here often right?” the fair-haired male asked.

The brunette nodded, trying to ignore the pins and needles feeling building across his skin and slowly seeping into his chest.

“Do you mind showing me the other exhibits?” The question threw off Joshua and it took him a whole minute and a half to process it.

“Y- Yes!” The words tumbled out messily and Joshua wanted to leap into one of the paintings and disappear right then and there. “I’d love to…” he looked down shyly, unable to see Jeonghan’s eyes crinkle up as he smiled in reassurance.

There was a momentary stillness between the two until Joshua remembered he was supposed to be leading the light-haired male through the art museum. The chestnut-haired male staggered forward in an awkward start, blushing at his clumsy behavior.

“This way,” His voice was hovering just above a whisper as if talking any louder would knock the displays right off of the walls.

Joshua never talked unless he was spoken to first, he feared that sharing his almost infinite and untapped knowledge about art and artists would be overwhelming for the blonde acquaintance. Besides, the caramel-haired male didn’t want to come off as weird. At some point, time seemed to stop as Joshua stared into a sculpture made of massive panes of glass. He looked into the eyes of his reflection with a dreamy look painted across his features until he felt someone watching him. When he blinked and refocused his gaze on the glass he noticed Jeonghan staring at him from the other side, an amused look on his face.

The brunette felt his face get hot under the other’s calm stare, turning away quickly to hide his flushing cheeks with the sleeves of his hoodie.

“Sorry, I spaced out.” Joshua turned and continued moving through the exhibit quickly. “Let’s keep going.” The chestnut-haired male counted on Jeonghan to follow him and not get left behind.

Throughout the tour, the brunette occasionally forgot about the fair-haired boy trailing behind him. His presence was only acknowledged again when they accidentally bumped into each other when Joshua stopped dead in his tracks to admire art or when Jeonghan tried to make conversation with a cheesy joke. It hadn’t occurred to the quiet boy that they had trekked through the entire building together until they ended up outside, the lampposts lighting the streets since the dark took over the sky.

“I should go home now, it’s really late.” The thought alone hurt but saying it made his chest feel like it was being licked by flames.

Jeonghan just stared at him before shaking his head. “Nonsense! I can give you a ride back to your home; I just have to pick up my friend from work first.”

Joshua stared at his feet, unmoving until a hand slipped into his and tugged him forward. His eyes lifted slowly to see the light-haired male just smiling at him so purely. “Come on. My car is parked by my friend’s place of work.”

The chestnut-haired male decided to save his protesting until later but he was afraid of accidentally making a scene in front of both Jeonghan and his friend. They walked together under amber spotlights for nearly twenty minutes; the only other bursts of colored light came seeping from neon signs and traffic lights. They stopped when they came upon a restaurant lit by a large blue and red neon sign that read “The Vortex: Burgers and Booze.” Jeonghan checked his phone before facing the confused male holding his hand still.

“Seungcheol will be out in a second, I’m going to fetch my car from the parking garage across the street.” He turned, ready to cross the road when he stopped and faced back to the brunette, “Don’t go anywhere.” He winked before dashing across the street.

Joshua stood outside the bar nervously, tugging the hood farther down over his face to hide the palpably obvious uneasiness he felt. Absentmindedly, the male sucked on one of his hoodie sleeves as his thoughts fixated on the sky, not taking notice of the black-haired male standing close beside him.

“You’re Joshua, right?” The voice made him nearly jump out of his skin, “Didn’t mean to scare you, Jeonghan said you would be waiting outside.”

The shy male just nodded mutely and watched cars as they passed by while Seungcheol continued talking. As far as first impressions went this wasn’t one of his worst, Joshua decided. The male with curly ebony hair was attractive, just like Jeonghan, but they seemed to be opposites. Seungcheol had black hair that rivaled the sky at midnight which made his other features, especially his petal pink lips, stand out more. He wore an oxford blue turtleneck, black ripped jeans, a tan suede bomber jacket, and black Dr. Martens. The way he stood and spoke had a thick aura of confidence that made Joshua feel a little small.

But, despite all this, he found the male somehow intriguing and endearing just like Jeonghan which only increased the ache filling his chest.

“He is the sweetest, isn’t he?” Seungcheol’s voice pulled the chestnut-haired males attention back to reality.

“Who?” The question came sprinting out of the shy male’s mouth before he could stop it, a blush going aflame over his cheeks.

“Jeonghan!” Seungcheol smiled in hopes to relax the uneasy male.

“Oh, yes, he’s very nice.” Joshua tried to convince himself to ignore the way the mention of Jeonghan and the smile Seungcheol gave him made his heart flutter.

But, of course, fate wouldn’t want that to last. “My  _soulmate_  has a big heart. I love that about him.”

The word  _soulmate_  made Joshua stare into the street and pray hard for a car to hit him then and there. That was just his luck, wasn’t it? It always seemed to turn out this way even despite the boy’s most desperate attempts. How unfortunate for him.

“My apartment isn’t far from here and it’s really late so I’m going to start heading back now.” He said trying to excuse himself from the uncomfortable situation he was in.

“Wasn’t Jeonghan supposed to give you a ride?” The onyx haired male asked but Joshua was already walking down the street with his head down in shame.

How stupid of him to think he even had a chance with either of them? Obviously, the two would be together, they were meant to be together! They were two pieces of art that stood apart from every other piece in existence. Obviously, they would be together. Maybe Joshua was getting desperate, after all, all of his friends found their  _soulmates_  right after they turned 18 like they were supposed to. But Joshua? He was in his twenties and didn’t have that sort of luck. He thought of giving up, there were a rumored few who were just meant to live their lives alone and he wondered if he was one of them more often than not. It just seemed better that way, intentionally being alone rather than being alone on accident.

Yet again, Joshua was so deep in his thoughts that he didn’t hear the car pull up beside him until the horn honked and startled him just like all the other catalyst moments that day. He just couldn’t catch a break today because when the window rolled down it was Jeonghan driving with Seungcheol in the passenger seat and it was for a second time that night that Joshua prayed for a car to run him over and put him out of his misery.

“Joshua!” Seungcheol’s strong vice made the brunette’s steps falter. “It’s too late to take a bus and the trains stopped an hour ago.” His patience seemed to be paper thin. “Get in the car, now!”

Staring at the cracked sidewalk the male with chestnut hair could only muster up enough courage to shake his head no.

“Joshua…” This time it was Jeonghan who spoke, his voice feather-light. “Please let me drive you home. It’s not safe to walk there alone this time of night, not for a cute boy like you.”

He hated how his heart stuttered, Joshua hated it. There was a beat of silence before the muffled click of the doors unlocking was heard and the shy male slid into the backseat without another word of protest. The ride home was painfully awkward for all three people in the car. Joshua tried to focus on the pain in his sternum. His skin burned and felt like it was being branded and his lungs ached with every breath. He felt like he was being clenched in God’s fist like a doll, his ribs being crushed into his organs. Is this what hate felt like?

“Josh, where’s your apartment?” Seungcheol’s voice barely cut through his thoughts.

“It’s at the end of Albrite Street. You can’t miss it.”

His vision blurred in and out before he ebbed away from reality and back into his thoughts. Joshua didn’t hate Jeonghan or Seungcheol. Frankly, he hated himself. Maybe that’s what the stabbing feeling in his chest was.

“Josh? Joshua?” A hand waving in his face snapped him back to reality. “We’re here.”

The brunette didn’t even feel like car stop rumbling beneath him and, with wide eyes, he nodded and slowly peeled himself out of the car. “You can come up if you like.” With that he slammed the car door before ascending the metal stairs up to his apartment, his legs aching at the strenuous movement.

When he got up to his floor he unlocked the door and pushed it tiredly, only mildly surprised when a hand caught it before it could swing shut and hit him.

“Careful. You could get hurt.” Jeonghan whispered softly into the quiet male's ear as he held the door open for him and Seungcheol.

“Thanks…” Joshua’s voice fell away as he kicked his shoes off and ventured farther into his apartment.

His backpack was dumped on the couch and the books in his arms were left in a messy pile on the breakfast table. He pushed his hood off his head allowing the cool air conditioning to ruffle his hair with its gentle breath.

“There is food and drinks in the fridge, beer too I think. Help yourselves.” Joshua forced a smile but it felt like he inhaled barbed wire and it was cutting him from the inside out.

The two guests nodded and sat on the couch as the brunette retreated into the bathroom in the hall. He shut the door quietly before sliding to the floor, his head in his hands and his knees pulled up against his chest. A gut-wrenching thought occurred to him as the pain got worse and suddenly the male was hoping he was having a heart attack or suffering from a collapsed lung or pulmonary edema. His skin felt hot like it was on fire and burning through his clothes. He frantically stood up and ripped off his sweatshirt, his glasses tumbling off in the process. His hands patted over his chest in a panicked manner, feeling over each muscle and bone but even the slightest graze felt like a hot knife pressing into his skin.

A lump formed in his throat as the pain intensified to the point it bled back into his spine and up into his shoulders making him feel weak. He begged and wished to any higher power that was listening that he was dead wrong but he wasn’t. One moment he was standing and the next he was in a crumpled pile on the floor. His trembling hand touched the front of his shirt only to pull away, a shudder running through his body painfully. Slowly he peeled his t-shirt away from his skin, dozens of flower petals falling onto his lap and the floor. The shirt was left in a pile with the hoodie as he stared at himself, tears making his eyes sting because this wasn’t fair.

Tenderly he ghosted his fingers over his sternum where a large tattoo bloomed over his chest. It was still fresh and raw but it matched with the flowers on the floor. Etched into his skin were two roses:  _baby pink and light blue_. It wasn’t fair and a sob tore from his throat loudly as his hands grabbed at the petals and held onto them for dear life. Joshua didn’t even bother to muffle the cries, he completely forgot that the two males in the living room were even there and could hear him having a breakdown. He wailed in agony, the pain in his chest not subsiding because now he knew: his soulmates weren’t even his but each others.

Fate was so cruel in that manner. He sunk down father on the floor, his body hunching over as he began to hyperventilate between cries. How unlucky he was to have this destiny. How unlucky he was. Joshua’s weeping was so loud he couldn’t even discern the soft knocks on the door before it opened to reveal a concerned Jeonghan and equally concerned Seungcheol. They stood in the doorway for a moment, exchanging glances until Jeonghan slowly kneeled down beside the sobbing male. Slowly, the blonde unbuttoned his shirt before reaching out cautiously, delicately taking the brunette’s hand and pressing it against his own sternum.

It was then Joshua finally took in their presence, his red, glossy eyes lifting to meet the fair-headed male’s before falling down to their hands. It took him a moment to notice it, just a moment, but when he did his tears stopped for a moment and he looked up at Seungcheol to check to see if he was dreaming. Inked across Jeonghan’s chest was two roses:  _light blue and_   _pure white_. His breath caught in his throat as Seungcheol lifted the bottom hem of his shirt to reveal his own roses: _baby pink and white._  They weren’t just each other’s soulmates, but Joshua Hong was theirs too and this is what numbed the soreness in his chest.

“Do not cry anymore, love.  _You’ll never be alone from now on_.” Jeonghan whispered as he used his free hand to brush away the stray tears on the shy male’s cheeks.

The black-haired male joined them on the floor, pressing a soft kiss on teary-eyed male’s forehead. “Don’t worry anymore.  _We’re meant to be_.” He said it with such certainty, holding up a blue and pink petal for Joshua to see.

“ _Meant to be..._ ” He repeated it back as he ran his fingers across the petals sensitively. “ _We are meant to be_.”

Maybe fate wasn’t cruel but it sure had a strange way of working things out.


	2. Notes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Author's and Character notes.

_ Characters: _

_All characters are based off of the Don’t Wanna Cry era._

1\. Joshua Hong

2\. Yoon Jeonghan

3\. Choi Seungcheol

_ Inspirations: _

This one-shot / short story was inspired by well...nothing, in particular, really. I wanted to write so I did. I haven't posted content in a while and this idea came to me so I put it in a document as fast as I could so I wouldn't forget it.

_ Further Notes: _

This short story / one shot was supposed to say something like:

"Look at this cool soft aesthetic one-shot I wrote- PSYCH! IT'S A SOULMATE FIC! YOU WERE FOOLED! HAHAHA!"

 

So I hope I accomplished that at least. 

 

In the end, thank you so much for reading. You can support me by leaving kudos and checking out my other works on my page! You can find me on twitter @qloss_ily where I post kpop related content and have a running threadfic I work on from time to time!


	3. The Explanation

                I pondered over it for a long moment before deciding that you, my readers, deserve an explanation as to what exactly happened to Joshua. I read and re-read this many times and I can understand that it might’ve come off as confusing, almost muddled in the last part of the story. The abrupt end probably didn’t help much either. I will explain as best as I can because, while words are my forte, it is difficult to explain something that only exists in my mind unnamed. I will try regardless.

 _This was a soulmate fic_ but I wanted to conceal it up until the reveal towards the end of the story. Soulmate fics seem to be, to me, incredibly popular among AU’s. I wanted this one to be unique in the sense that it didn’t start off right away establishing that it was that AU. Waiting allowed me to build the tension and manipulate the symptoms to have more than one plausible explanation, figurative applications, and wishful justifications.

I should preface by saying that this universe was inspired by  _Very Nice_  by  _SEVENTEEN_  (Which is why I chose to use a pairing from  _SEVENTEEN_  because it seemed fitting.) I liked the use of the flower petals (confetti?) to signify the crush or infatuation for the female character in the MV. I wanted to take that concept and mold it into something ghastly and beautiful while also incorporating the symbolism tied to flowers and the idea that “love blooms.”

In this universe, as in many others, after coming of age you are destined to find your soulmate. In this case, coming of age is 18, the beginning of adulthood. When you meet the person or persons who are meant to be your soulmate a seed, per se, is planted in your chest, in your heart. It grows and eventually blooms atop your skin. I mean this literally. A flower grows and blooms over your skin, the growth can take hours after the first interaction but you feel it immediately after meeting them.

The bloom only takes a second and then the petals fall. Heaps of lush petals drop away from the site of growth. A particular flower represents the soulmate and that is the flower bloomed. However, left behind on your chest is an intricate tattoo of that flower (or many if there is more than one soulmate.) People can have similar flowers but they can’t have similar tattoos. Only soulmates have tattoos that match. Maybe not in a way the eye can see but it is sense. You just know they’re meant to be together.

This process is considered almost scared, it’s special and cherished by everyone except the rumored few who are fated to be alone. While it is painful it leaves something beautiful behind. (Of course, if the fate of the character is tragic then maybe they wouldn’t find the mark and petals beautiful.) I know that this idea might need to be tweaked and touched up but I think it’s special and lovely anyway.

Now for sad boy Joshua, he didn’t meet his soulmates after turning 18 because they were busy meeting each other that time. Because of this, it lessened the chances of meeting Joshua and him meeting them at all the longer the time that passed. In my mind, I believed that Jeonghan and Seungcheol knew it was Joshua and that’s why both of their roses already bloomed. However, for Joshua, the interaction wasn’t personal enough for his seed to fully be planted.

Of course, Jeonghan and Seungcheol would try and plan the perfect meeting that was memorable and just personal enough. It didn’t go exactly as planned but it worked out in the end. It was mentioned that “fate was cruel in that manner” because Joshua’s soulmates were already each other’s soulmates. Of course, there are always the unlucky few whose soulmate(s) already have someone and it’s not them, it’s never going to be them. That is why Joshua felt so torn. If you even go back you could pick up on the fact that Joshua would’ve rather been intentionally alone rather than accidentally.

In this case, he was intentionally alone, but bound to people he  _believed_  would never want or love him. It only made the pain in his chest worse and I think that anyone who got matched with someone who didn’t match with them would feel that ache forever. It would be a void forever remaining unfilled. I personally couldn’t imagine being in that sort of agony for the rest of my life. (And I know how painful a tattoo is on your torso. I have one underneath my chest across my ribs. It was one of the most painful things I’ve ever experienced too.)

So yeah. I hoped that helped clear things up and maybe inspire some of you. I’m going to continue working on this AU and once I get all the details cleared up I’ll post a separate story about it that will be far more in depth than this. I hope all of you enjoyed and I will see you again in this next fic or update.

\- qloss_ily (qloss rosé)

A/N: Drink every time I say "of course" or "in this case."

**Author's Note:**

> My Wattpad is @amaijunai if you would like to see the cover art (for all of my stories).


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